


Chance

by bizarrebird



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fix Fic, M/M, hinted slash, season 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-30
Updated: 2013-03-30
Packaged: 2017-12-06 22:38:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/740963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bizarrebird/pseuds/bizarrebird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone deserves a second one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chance

**Author's Note:**

> Reposting this from my tumblr. I wrote this ages ago, back during season six, as part of a hundred fics challenge that I failed spectacularly. Oh well. I figured I'd fix it up a little and put it on my shiny new account here. Takes place in an AU end of The Man Who Would Be King, which gave me a lot of feelings.

“No.” 

Sam and Bobby stopped in their tracks, turning to stare at Dean in disbelief. “Son,” Bobby started, but the look on Dean’s face stopped him cold.

“Dean, come on.” 

“No.” Dean shook his head and slowly looked at the ring of holy fire. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a flask and emptied the water on the circle. The flames died, shock evident on Castiel’s face, but the angel made no move to vanish, still staring at Dean in astonishment. “I’m not leaving,” Dean insisted. “I’m not leaving him.”

Sam took a halting step forward, hesitant to go anywhere near Castiel, though he had yet to do anything but stare widely at Dean with his huge blue eyes. “Dean, he’s working with Crowley.” 

“Yeah, cause we’ve never worked with demons before.”

“Look how well that ended for us.” Sam shook his head, not quite able to believe this. He knew Dean had fought for Castiel the hardest, knew how betrayed his brother felt by this revelation. How could he just let that go after everything? After the apocalypse? After Ruby? “Dean, this is Ruby all over again.”

“Exactly.” 

Sam stared at him, open mouthed. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Dean rounded on him, jaw set, eyes hard. “What d’you think it means? No way in hell am I letting it get that far again. I learn from my mistakes.”

“What mistake?” As far as Sam could remember, Dean had been fighting him the whole time on Ruby, the demon blood and everything else. 

Shaking his head, Dean looked at the ground, he was near tears. “I gave up on you, Sammy. I gave up damn it and I almost lost you and everything else.” Looking up, he took a deep breath to steady himself as he shook his head once more. “Not again. You go if you want, but I’m staying.” 

“Dean, I—” Sam cut himself short and looked up in horror as the building trembled and swayed a harsh gale pounding it from all angles. He turned back to Dean desperately. “Dean, come on, please.” 

“You should go with him,” Castiel said quietly. All eyes turned to the angel, who was still watching Dean closely.

“No.” Dean’s tone was firm as he took another step into Castiel’s personal space. 

“Dean…” 

“I’m not leaving you, Cas. I’m not loosing you, not to that bastard, not to anyone,” Dean insisted, reaching up to grip Castiel’s shoulders tightly. He glanced over his shoulder at Sam and Bobby. “You two, get moving, I can take it from here.”

“But—” 

“I said go!”

Realizing they were fighting a lost battle, Bobby grabbed Sam and pulled him outside, giving the taller man only time to cast one look back at his brother and the path he had chosen. Inside, Dean turned back to Castiel, who sighed and stared at the ground. “Dean… I’m sorry.”

“Stop.” 

Castiel looked up at him, eyes wide in confusion. “I kept secrets, I lied… you fought for me, defended me and…” He trailed off, unable to continue, unable to maintain eye contact.

“Cas, look at me.” When the angel didn’t, Dean caught his chin in one hand and tilted his face up. “That doesn’t matter. I don’t give a damn what you did, I can’t. With all the shit me and Sam have pulled… Look, you were trying to do the right thing, that’s what matters. You screwed some stuff up, but we’re gunna fix it, all right?” 

Swallowing hard under Dean’s intense gaze, Castiel found he suddenly appreciated Dean’s need for personal space. He glanced away, but couldn’t make any part of his body move to pull back from the hunter. “Dean… I can’t… you don’t understand.”

“Then help me understand.” Dean’s voice shook slightly. “Damn it, Cas, I can’t lose you. Let me help you, give me a second chance, Cas please.”

Castiel’s eyes flicked back to Dean’s, eyebrows furrowed. “You’ve done nothing wrong.” 

“Then why the hell didn’t you come to me?” He wasn’t crying, but tears and raging storm clouds filled Dean’s eyes. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course.” Castiel gently gripped Dean’s forearms, moving unintentionally closer. The building shook again, windows rattling as a cloud of demons crashed against him. “We should go somewhere else,” Castiel muttered. 

Before Dean could blink, they were standing in a grassy park, sun shining in the sky, birds chirping. Quite a change of scenery. While Dean was distracted, Castiel pulled away from him and walked a few feet away to sit on a park bench. He clasped his hands in front of him and slouched forward, squinting in the sunlight. Still a bit shaken by the sudden change, Dean slowly followed, sitting next to him a bit uncertainly. “So where’s this?”

“Heaven.” 

“Ah.” Dean nodded and looked around, nothing seemed familiar. “Uh, don’t I have to be dead to be here?”

Castiel shook his head. “It’s not your Heaven, just a part of it. I’ve grown quite fond of it…” 

Dean nodded again, tapping his fingers against the bench. “So, not dead then?” 

Turning to him, Castiel smiled, though there was a sadness about it. “No, you are very much alive, Dean.” He sighed and looked out at the park, staring into the depths of a small duck pond. “Sometimes I envy that.” 

“It’s not really all it’s cracked up to be,” Dean said with a shrug. “So Crowley can’t get in here?”

“He can try, but it is unlikely even he could find us.” 

Dean smirked. “Damn, Cas, when did you turn into such a badass?”

Castiel glanced at him, corner of his mouth tilting up. “I believe that occurred sometime between our confrontation with Raphael and the fight against Pestilence, but I am unsure of the precise moment.” 

“Right,” Dean said with a slight laugh in his voice. Looking up at the sky wistfully, Dean leant against the back of the bench, stretching his arms out along it. “Y’know, it sounds weird, but I kinda miss those days… not the apocalypse part, I mean,” he added hastily seeing Castiel’s confused expression.

Shifting slightly, Dean tried to think of a better way to phrase his thoughts. “Actually, I dunno, at least back then I knew what the hell I was trying to do. Now, it’s just… everything’s so damn screwed up and I can’t even figure out why and everything I do just makes it worse and you’re…”

Castiel stared at Dean as he trailed off. “I’m what?” he asked, anxiety curling around him as he gripped the sleeves of his trench coat.

Dean shook his head. “I don’t know, Cas,” he admitted. Castiel felt a horrible crushing sensation though the air remained calm and still. Shaking his head again, Dean scrubbed a hand over his face. “I mean, I know you’re trying to do the right thing here and I want to help but… things have changed way more than I thought.”

“What do you mean?” Castiel knew the question didn’t need to be asked, but it slipped out anyway. He knew as well as Dean that the past year apart had altered a great number of things about both of them. Truthfully, Castiel had begun to find it harder and harder to recognize himself. 

“It’s just… different,” Dean said with a shrug. He looked out, squinting slightly at a patch of grass several feet away. After a few moments, he shrugged again. “I guess I always figured it was just me and Sammy who got caught in these things.” 

Castiel nodded. “I suppose I learned from the best then,” he said, glancing sideways at Dean to gauge his reaction.

Dean’s shoulders shook with a short silent laugh. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, some of the tension going out of him. “I deserve that.”

Blanching, Castiel turned to him sharply. “No, I… I didn’t mean…” He trailed off when Dean met his shaken gaze with a raised eyebrow and small frown. Looking away, Castiel’s eyebrows furrowed and he twisted his hands together. “I only meant to make a joke. I seem to have missed the mark.” 

The angel twitched in surprise when a hand gripped his shoulder. “Cas, ease up. It’s fine,” Dean said firmly as Castiel slowly turned to face him. His face was stony for just a few seconds as he met Castiel’s eyes, but then he let his features fall into a more relaxed expression. “Actually, that was pretty good, for you, I mean.”

“That is… not a compliment,” Castiel said, analyzing Dean’s words in his head several thousand times within the span of four seconds. Of course, that was pretty much what he usually did whenever Dean spoke, but the hunter’s words rarely matched up with their standard meaning. 

Dean laughed again, this time out loud, but it still didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Got that right, but hey, you got me first.” He shifted on the bench as he looked away, posture more than a little stiffer than usual. “So, we should probably talk about actual… stuff, right?” 

Castiel nodded hesitantly, trying to keep his hands still and failing spectacularly. “Yes, stuff should be discussed.”

The hunter managed another stilted laugh as he scratched his head and found his shoes infinitely interesting. Awkward silence fell and Castiel couldn’t bring himself to break it. Dean shifted a bit, still not looking at him as he cleared his throat. “So Crowley, huh?” 

“Yes,” Castiel said slowly, watching Dean from the corner of his eye. 

Dean bobbed his head once in a nod. Once more, his eyes flicked over their surroundings as he tapped his fingers together against his knees. After a moment he sighed. “So I guess you’re in pretty deep then?” he asked, turning to the angel, squinting slightly in the bright sunlight that flooded the park.

“That is a… very, very accurate statement.” Castiel’s gaze fell to his clasped hands as he nodded slowly. “Dean, I… I promise I tried to find another way, any other way, but Crowley was… very convincing. Perhaps I should have looked harder…” 

Trailing off, Castiel once more regretted the distance he had begun to place between himself and Dean. There was something about being near the man that seemed to make everything… feel just the slightest bit better. 

He glanced over to find Dean staring at him, expression unreadable. Dean maintained eye contact for what felt like an eternity before he shrugged and his mouth turned up in the slightest hint of a smile. “Cas, I get it. Desperate times…” He looked at Cas expectantly for a second, perhaps there was more to that statement the angel was meant to fill in.

When Castiel stayed silent, Dean looked away, clearing his throat a bit sheepishly. “Well, you know I’ve been there. Exactly there… well, maybe a few steps to the left or something, but still.” He turned to the angel, eyes sweeping over his face. “You get what I’m trying to say here, right?”

Castiel nodded slowly. “I believe so… but this still poses no solution. You understand how I ended up in this situation, but I doubt you have a viable way to get out of it.” He shifted a bit uncomfortably and stared at the ground. “If it’s all the same to you, Dean, I would rather not fulfill my contract the way you did.”

Realizing what he had said, Castiel froze. There was very, very little chance the hunter wanted to be reminded of just how he had paid up for his demon deal. That had been tactless and really had nothing to do with the matter at hand. 

“Dean, I…I didn’t mean—what are you doing?” Castiel’s words faltered and changed mid thought as the hunter slung an arm around him, tugging him close.

“There’s no way in hell I’m letting that happen.” Looking up, Castiel found himself staring into Dean’s eyes, now just a few inches away. Green eyes raged with emotion in a stoic face. Dean shook his head and pulled Castiel so the angel’s head was pressed to his shoulder. “I don’t care what you did, Cas, I’m not losing you to Crowley or anyone else, alright?” 

“Dean—”

The human cut him off again, grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him back a bit to stare at him from arm’s length. “It’s not up for debate, asshat. We’re going to fix this, I don’t care if I’ve gotta fight Crowley, or even the goddamn angels again. I’m not losing you, you got that?”

Castiel struggled to find his voice, hands hanging limply at his sides as Dean’s fingers dug into his shoulders, the hunter’s eyes never once leaving his. An emotion he couldn’t find a name for tugged at him, stopping his words and making his thoughts trip over one another. Finally, he managed to nod, speech still eluding him.

Dean’s face seemed to brighten, if only slightly, his grip on the angel’s shoulders loosening slightly. “Alright… alright, but this time you’ve gotta trust me to be there.”

“… Of course,” Castiel said, words finally coming back to him. “So… what do you suggest we do?” 

For a second, Dean looked at him blankly then he shrugged. “Hell if I know. I figure we’ll handle things as they come, or just put out whatever catches on fire before it spreads.”

Castiel stared at him. He… didn’t seem to be lying… at all. The angel’s lips twitched upwards just the tiniest bit as he nodded. “I suppose that’s good enough for the time being.”

“Damn right it is,” Dean said, tugging Castiel to his side and throwing one arm over his shoulders. “So, you know where Elvis’s heaven is? I’d love to see what that guy’s got going on up here.” 

As Dean rambled on about what he imagined this Elvis person would be doing in the afterlife, Castiel couldn’t help but feel that maybe, somehow things would work out. It was probably a ridiculous assumption, but he couldn’t help but feel as though he had been given a second chance.

Well, whatever the hunter had given him, he wasn’t about to waste it.


End file.
